Real People

Lisa Cash wasn't always a tech head. In fact, she dabbled in golf and sports club marketing early in her career. Then she got interested in other kinds of links, those that connect the world digitally.

At 38, Cash is now CEO of Princeton Softech, a Princeton area firm that provides database archiving technology. Cash focuses on the company's strategy or direction, managing the board of directors and providing guidance in all departments. "The fast pace and innovation of the technology industry fascinates me," she says. "The best thing about my job is the fact that we can change the way the organization does business. We can create new markets, and create new technologies.

The Altoona, Pennsylvania native earned a B.S. in accounting from Penn State in 1987. That's right, she wanted to crunch numbers. Earlier in her career, Cash was regional sales and marketing manager with the Club Corporation of America, the owner of private country clubs, golf courses and sports clubs. She also worked as an award-winning director of sales and a general manager at Bell Atlantic, now known as Verizon, the telecom company. In 2000, Cash was named CEO at Princeton Softech

Cash, who is quite young for a CEO, doesn't regret the move into the tech realm, especially since she gets the chance to shape the way her company handles business day-to-day. Those thinking of moving into the field will discover, she says, that the skills they learn along the way are easily transferable to other facets of the technology industry and beyond. Technology can be applied to the marketing, sales, or business development side of the game. Besides the job opportunities and the room for career growth, Cash remains fascinated by the innovation in the field and the opportunity to work with the "smart and fun" people attracted to it.